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Inquiring minds want to know what kind of tree straps you use. I'm guessing you are using nylon tree straps and they are stretching overnight.

Thanks for all of the thoughts here. I will definitely try the milking thing. The straps and Whoopie Slings as well as the toggles I purchased from Arrowhead Equipment it was their Marline Spike Hitch Whoopie Kit. The straps are polyester. Any other thoughts? This is a great place to gain knowledge. I gotta admit that since I came across this site I have spent at least 2-3 hours everyday reading, learning and laughing.

Whoopies love 'em. Less bulk & weight. Used straps & buckles & actually the buckle was always more work for me.

I agree. Seems to me when I observe hangers who use straps ... and rings ... and buckles ... and biners ... and clips, there's often a lot of gear and weight involved. Maybe it's just some of the particular hangers I've observed? Then, they have to knot the straps to "back up" the hardware.

Originally Posted by neo

whoopie slings love them or hate them.last night was my 1st experience with.i dont see what is great about them.i will give them a few more ties before i throw them in the camp fire lolneo

I've always used whoopies...but now that I have a much longer hammock that has become a problem. Especially trying to find some place to hang here at home (which ended up being in the attic with the whoopies). I had a friend here on the forums, Dweller7 who does excellent work, made me some amsteel chain links to add to the ends of my hammock so that I have more options. At this point I'm not sure what I'll end up using out in the field, but for here at home the whoopies do not go short enough and I can see the potential of problems out in the field too.

Whoopies, love 'em. If the trees are too close together, I can't hang my tarp properly anyways. Plus I live in New York and most of my camping is around here, if you can't find trees with good spacing around here you're doing it wrong.

It's the weight and bulk. I know, I probably can't feel the difference in my backpack, but I can see it on my scale, and pack weight is made up of a lot of small things. No one drop feels responsible for the flood, right?

They work equally well for hanging casually around the house so I don't feel any need to have different setups.

I started with the WB straps and buckles, latest generation and found the system worked very well. My reservations as a weight conscious backpacker were the weight. Also the wet was a problem as the straps are attached to the hammock. You can't forget it, but the sap and wet go with it too.

I talked to Dutch and of course he had the solution and I went with his Dutch hooks on inverted WS. I love that this package is light and strong. It has never slipped or stretched on me. I can easily detach the hooks from the continuous loop on my hammock and keep them with my stakes so the wet and sap don't get all over the hammock. I did notice that I could hang on trees that are closer together with the straps than the whoopies.

I have not tried it yet, but will a marlin spike hold in the the amsteel WS where I could then just loop the continuous loop on my hammock over the knot making it a lot shorter? Of course if your tarp is 11' you won't need to go any shorter than that on a hang.

I still use the straps (they are easy to put back on) in the back yard as things are close together.

If the trees are too close together, I can't hang my tarp properly anyways.

I love the stock straps on my WBBB, but the sap thing drives me nuts. As festus said, does my tarp length cancel out the disadvantage in minimum tree length caused by whoopies? For example, I have a WBBB and a MacCat Deluxe. If my reading of the specs is right, my tarp is 11 feet and my hammock is 10 feet? If that is right, does anyone know the minimum tree distance for my tarp v. straps v. whoopies? How short can you get a whoopie sling, anyway?